HUMS 224 Envisioning Nature

Division of Liberal Arts

3 credits 45.0 hours
200 level undergraduate course

In this course, we will explore selected ways in which nature has been defined in literature and the arts, and how in turn concepts of Nature have defined mankind. We will analyze readings and sources from a range of disciplines (literature, visual art, music, dance, and film), approaches and cultures, presented in thematic units, with selected examples from antiquity to the present time, constituting a broad historical framework. Interpretations of the concept of Nature will include viewing nature as animistic, as sacred, as a divine order, as a mechanistic universe, a transcendent force, as a commodity, and as an entity essential to life but exploited. It has been said, “Men have always had to choose between their subjection to Nature or the subjection of Nature to the Self.” We will examine how this choice evolved, evaluate expressions of this choice as it approaches a crisis point, and explore how creative expression can explore and even transcend this dichotomy.

Prerequisites FYWT*101 or FYWT*112

This course is not repeatable for credit.
This course is equated with the following courses: LACR*210, HUMS*223, HUMS*214, HUMS*217, HUMS*227, HUMS*213, HUMS*219, HUMS*222, HUMS*229, REG*228, HUMS*221, HUMS*224, HUMS*225, HUMS*226, HUMS*218, HUMS*220, HUMS*212, HUMS*215, HUMS*216, HUMS*210, HUMS*211